A month-long fight for survival

When Richard Stutzman enlisted to fight World War II, there was never any doubt in his mind about what he wanted to do -- fly airplanes.

He flew 34 strafing missions in P-51s before he was shot down by Japanese ground fire over China on Aug. 14, 1944. He parachuted out near an island and swam ashore. He figured he'd be rescued that day, or at the very least the next.

He was on his own for more than 30, he said today while sharing his story as part of the U-T's Legacy of WWII project, filmed aboard the Midway Museum.

He ate bamboo shoots and small birds he'd trapped. He tried to fashion a raft out of logs. Once, when he saw an American boat go by, he fired his gun. Putting it back in the holster, he accidentally fired again, shooting himself in the left foot.

Chinese guerillas found him and took him to an American church group. He was disguised in Chinese clothes and and eventually taken back to his unit. They thought he was dead.

And after all that, there was still only one thing he wanted to do -- fly.

Stutzman, 91, taught shop in Bakersfield, his hometown, after the war. He lives now in Rancho Penasquitos.